An audio clip has surfaced online in which Kanye West can be heard calling Taylor Swift a “fake ass”. Scroll below to listen.

West and Swift famously fell out after the rapper interrupted the star’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV VMAs. They later reconciled, with Swift handing West the lifetime achievement prize at last year’s VMAs.

However, West caused controversy with lyrics about Swift in his song ‘Famous’. The track, which features on the rapper’s new album ‘The Life Of Pablo’, includes the lyrics: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous.”

Page Six have shared an audio clip purported to have been recorded backstage ahead of West’s Saturday Night Live performance last week.

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West is heard in the clip saying: “Look at that shit, they took my fucking stage off a SNL without asking me. Now I’m bummed. That and Taylor Swift, fake ass.”

“Now I ain’t gonna do this, we’re breaking the motherfucking internet,” he says later. “I went through six years of this fucking shit. Let’s get to it, bro. Let’s get to it, bro.”

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West continues to compare himself to other great artists and historical figures: “Are they fucking crazy, bro? By 50 percent. Stanley Kubrick, Apostle Paul, Picasso… fucking Picasso and Escobar. By 50 percent, more influential than any other human being. Don’t fuck with me. Don’t fuck with me. Don’t fuck with me,” he continues. “By 50 percent, dead or alive, by 50 percent for the next thousand years. Stanley Kubrick. Ye.”

A representative for West has since responded to the recording, telling Rolling Stone that West’s comments were meant to be “private”.

“This audio was secretly recorded while he was venting his frustration in a private moment with his team. He found out his stage design was changed and taken apart under the direction of the show’s lighting director without anyone’s approval.”

“He spent an entire day rehearsing and a lot of hard work into the performance. Dramatic set changes were made 30 minutes before going live. It should be understandable why he was upset after being completely blindsided.”

The source stated that West “was seen hugging [SNL producer] Lorne Michaels just before the goodnights and he stayed afterwards to chat with the staff and the cast, and thanked the producers on his way out the door.”

Swift subtly referred to West’s ‘Famous’ lyric during her acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards earlier this week.

The singer picked up the award for Album Of The Year and said: “I want to say to all the young women out there there are going to be people along the way who are going to try and undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.”